The use of mobile communication devices continues to grow, and with that growth, different technologies are starting to be implemented within these devices. Currently, most, if not all mobile communication devices are powered by a rechargeable battery which is located within a battery housing and provides the necessary power to operate the device. Once the battery is drained, it can be recharged via the application of electrical energy to the battery. Future embodiments can be powered via other technologies such as fuel cells.
A fuel cell is an electrochemical conversion device which produces electricity from reactants such as a fuel (on the anode side) and an oxidant (on the cathode side), which react in the presence of an electrolyte. The reactants flow into the cell, and the reaction products flow out while the electrolyte remains within. Therefore, fuel cells can operate virtually continuously as long as the necessary flows are maintained such that they operate within a thermodynamically open system. However, use of a fuel cell can result in other operational concerns.
Fuel cells have a limited humidity operating range and experience severely degraded performance when the operating characteristics of the fuel cell are off-centre within the operating range. This degraded performance results in low output power and poor fuel efficiency which negatively affects operation of the device it is powering.